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Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid
Studio album by Collective Soul
Released	1993 (original Rising Storm release) / March 22 1994 (Atlantic rerelease)
Recorded	1992, 1993
Studio	Rising Storm Studios, Atlanta, Georgia MSE Studios, Miami, Florida Real 2 Reel Studios, Stockbridge, Georgia
Genre	Alternative rock, post-grunge
Length	45:13
Label	Rising Storm, Atlantic
Producer	Ed Roland, Matt Serletic, Joe Randolph
Collective Soul chronology
Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid (1993) Collective Soul (1995)
Singles from Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid
"Shine" Released: March 19, 1993 "Breathe" Released: January 10, 1994 "Wasting Time" Released: April 30, 1994

Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid is the debut studio album by American rock band Collective Soul, it was originally released on an indie label in Atlanta called Rising Storm Records in 1993, Collective Soul later signed on with Atlantic Records and the album was rereleased in 1994 under the Atlantic label. The track "Shine" gained the band attention thanks to college radio.

The cover art is a modified and colored version of a nineteenth century advertising image, with the album's title added to the sign. The opening track, "Shine", would arguably become Collective Soul's biggest hit.

Background and release

Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid was recorded in a basement in 1992 as a promotional demo. Frontman Ed Roland hoped to simply sell the songs to a publishing company rather than form a band. He gave the demo to a small college radio station in Atlanta that began playing "Shine". The track quickly became their most requested song and the band was asked to perform some concerts for the station. Favoring an opportunity to perform a few shows with his brother, Roland agreed and regathered the demo's guitarist and drummer as well as his brother Dean. On the original Rising Storm pressing of the album, David Neal is credited as bassist. He would eventually be replaced by Will Turpin.

The attention gained by "Shine" allowed it to chart and catapulted the band to national stardom. They were soon picked up by Atlantic Records who wished to release the demo as the debut studio album of Collective Soul. In a 1995 interview, Roland elaborated on his mixed feelings regarding the situation:

"It wasn't even remixed. It was the same demo. Before we got signed we'd already charted with 'Shine.' Once we got signed I said, 'We want to re-record. This is not a band recording.' But they said, 'You're gonna lose momentum. You're looking at a three to five month process. So let's go with it and you can get your next record out quick.' We thought it would be great to sell 10-20,000 units. , we were sitting there with our eyes wide open."

Consequently, Collective Soul would regard their self-titled 1995 studio album under Atlantic as the band's official debut. Roland told Metal Edge, "It's so funny for people to compare the two. It's like comparing one band to another band. is our first record, flat out."

The album was produced by Matt Serletic, becoming his first production success, and who would then subsequently go on to much wider fame producing all of Matchbox 20's releases as well as those by their frontman Rob Thomas, including his Santana collaboration "Smooth".

Promotion and touring

Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid featured three singles, the most successful of which was "Shine". Aside from radio popularity, the song also had a music video which received heavy airplay on MTV.

Collective Soul performed at Woodstock 1994 and opened for Aerosmith during their Get a Grip Tour.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Entertainment Weekly	B+
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
The Village Voice	C−

The album gained overall positive reception from critics. It was given credit for its strong melodies but a less savory response regarding its apparent lack of originality. Also of note was Collective Soul's more upbeat sound amidst their more angst, grunge-influenced contemporaries.

Chuck Eddy of Entertainment Weekly gave a somewhat sarcastic review, describing the album as "bubble-gum grunge: an idea whose time has come."

In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau was even more negative, singling it out in Consumers Guide "Turkey Shoot" feature as a "Must to Avoid", an example of "...mediocre pseudoalternatives from every corner of this embittered, all too grateful land of ours."

Track listing

All songs written by Ed Roland, except "Beautiful World" by Ed Roland and Matt Serletic.

Personnel

Collective Soul

• Ed Roland – lead vocals, guitar
• Dean Roland – rhythm guitar
• Ross Childress – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Will Turpin – bass, backing vocals (Atlantic pressing); percussion on "Heaven's Already Here" (Rising Storm pressing)
• Shane Evans – drums
• David Neal – bass (Rising Storm pressing)

Additional musicians

• Matt Serletic – keyboards, trombones and string arrangements on "Sister Don't Cry", "Pretty Donna", and "Beautiful World"
• Joe Randolph – guitar on "Goodnight, Good Guy", "Love Lifted Me", and "Scream"
• Brian Howell – bass on "Scream"
• Melissa Ortega – solo violin on "Wasting Time"

String ensemble

• Jun-Ching Lin – leader, violin I
• David Braitberg – violin II
• Paul Murphy – viola
• Daniel Laufer – cello

Production

• Ed Roland – producer, mixer, and engineer (all tracks)
• Matthew Serletic – producer, mixer, and engineer (tracks 4, 8, 10, 14); mastering
• Joe Randolph – producer (tracks 5, 11)
• Bill Richardson – executive producer
• Mike Childers – digital editing, artwork, DTP
• Mario Castellanos – photography

Charts

Certifications

References

1. "Alphabetilately: A is for Advertising Cover".
2. ^ "Albums: Collective Soul" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 59, no. 17. May 16, 1994. p. 10. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
3. ^ Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid Liner Notes (liner notes). Rising Storm Records. 743617711821. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
4. Miller, Gerri No One Hit Wonder, CS Shines With Album #2 Metal Edge (Spring 1995). Retrieved on 2-07-10.
5. JT Griffith. "Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid - Collective Soul". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
6. Chuck Eddy (1994-05-27). "Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid Review". EW.com. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
7. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Collective Soul". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 180−181. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
8. Christgau, Robert (November 29, 1994). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
9. "Robert Christgau, Consumer Guide Nov 29, 1994: Turkey Shoot". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
10. BMI Entry
11. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 63.
12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2514". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
13. "Charts.nz – Collective Soul – Hints Allegations & Things Left Unsaid". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
14. "Collective Soul Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
15. "Collective Soul Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
16. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
17. "Canadian album certifications – Collective Soul – Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid". Music Canada. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
18. "American album certifications – Collective Soul – Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 28, 2021.

• 1993 debut albums
• Albums produced by Ed Roland
• Albums produced by Matt Serletic
• Atlantic Records albums
• Collective Soul albums
• 1990s demo albums